Demons, Devils, and Dragonsbane

The World of Gamon

This session began with Laralan, a Chaotic Good Wood Elf who was a Favored Soul of Ehlonna, the Goddess of Nature. He was stocking supplies in a small Druidic village that belonged to the Elder Leaves. Arden and Etch found their way to the village (as Etch had been there before) and they informed the village elder of the situation. The elder told Laralan that it would be Ehlonna’s will to find Morak and ensure that the Tome was opened, as a government controlled by the Veiled Alliance would be friends of nature, like in the Magocracy. Eager for adventure, Laralan obliged.

Arden described Morak’s appearance to Laralan. He told Laralan that when he found Morak to tell him that he “wants his shit back.” Arden and Etch told Laralan that they would be departing to Ar’ginth, as they had a “score to settle” there.

Laralan proceeded through the woods and ran into Morak and Alex, who were accompanied by two Satyrs. After fending off some dire wolves, Laralan proved invaluable to the party and they welcomed him with open arms – the enemy of my enemy is my friend, they reasoned. Laralan also earned Alex’s trust when Laralan healed Alex, who fell in battle.

Also, to note, Alex’s gender can not be discerned.

By using Forgery, Morak used Magrath’s signature to fake a license for their Dwarven wizard ally. They went through the gates of Garilla safely, but not after gathering suspicion from the town’s notorious Slayer, Duran Shadowblade.

According to the Dwarf, the Slayers have some “dark magic” about them. Their weapons deal more damage to spellcasters, and they can sense magic at will and “merge with the darkness temporarily.” The town is ruled by the military governor, Maxwell Lockman, who was recently adopted into the noble family. It is rumored that Lockman is a powerful fighter, and perhaps a powerful Slayer himself.

The dwarf left the party to return to his cover job as a Banker at the local Bank. Alex brought Laralan and Morak to the secret Veiled Alliance HQ – it’s where the “banknotes” are kept, which is why magical wards are approved by the monarchs there. There, they met a few mages:

Nathan, the head of this branch.

Lyra, a charismatic sorceress.

Bob, a diviner who likes to know the facts.

They filled Nathan in on all of the previous events. They also showed him the Tome, and left it for safe-keeping at the HQ. The party then began to go about their business and rest before curfew was enacted at 11PM.

Alex straightened out her room at the HQ, had some dinner in the kitchen, and browsed for some books in the HQ’s library. She met with Nathan, who told her that undead have been seen among the ranks of Farun’s army. Alex suspects that Warlocks could be behind this new development.

Laralan went to Ben’s Bows, a local archery shop, and bought some arrows of shock. He also made a deal with Ben, the store owner, to make some cloaks out of hide in 2 days (i.e. before they leave). He then retired to the HQ.

Morak went to the Laughing Fiend, the local inn for shady characters. On the way, he met his friend, a fisherman named Argus. He asked Argus how things were going in the West, and Argus told him about some shaky developments and movements of the army – they seem to be trying to retake Camillo. There he met Shade again, who questioned him concerning the success of his mission. Morak asked Shade about the dangers of the Mountain Pass and the seas surrounding Farun. Shade told him that the Pass was outside of anyone’s control – it was home to Demons and eldritch creatures. The only “safe” part would be Thenaun, a Dwarven City tucked in the mountains. Morak took a room in the shady Inn.

The next morning, Morak awoke to find a note slipped under his door. The note told him that Shade had kidnapped Argus, and demanded that Morak come alone to the Abandoned Warehouse at midnight with the Tome of Understanding, as he “wouldn’t want anything to happen to Argus.” Morak told Nathan and his allies at the Veiled Alliance HQ about the note. The wizards decided to cast invisibility spells on Laralan and Alex, while Alex cast silence upon them. This way, his party members could join him, undetected.

Bob spent much time discerning the layout of the warehouse. In the meantime, Morak forged licenses for Nathan, Lyra, and Bob. The plan was this – Alex, Laralan, and Morak would deal with Shade, while the other 3 wizards would free Argus. When Morak went to the warehouse and showed Shade the book and said a code phrase, Alex and Laralan began attacking Shade and 3 rogues he had with him.

Shade fought with a whip and a dagger, and his plan of attack involved tripping his opponent and then attacking them while they were defenseless. Morak kept Shade occupied while Alex smacked Shade’s henchmen across the face with critical quarterstaff blows. Meanwhile, Laralan got on top of a tall crate and shot several of Shade’s men. Shade then tripped Morak and caused him to start bleeding out. Shade then moved towards Laralan, who shot at him. Shade tripped Laralan off the crate, but Laralan managed to keep his balance on the floor due to a Reflex save. Laralan used Updraft to jet into the air and shoot at Shade. Shade made a break for the door after grabbing the tome, but Alex rushed to block his path. With well-placed arrows and a final quarterstaff blow to the head, Shade became disabled (0 HP).

Laralan saved one of Shade’s henchmen from death, due to his beliefs in natural life and redemption. The mages saved Argus, who was a bit beaten up, but alive. Laralan and Alex healed Morak, who then went to talk to Shade.
“Are you going to kill me, Morak?” Shade said. “Or are you going to send me to Farun’s authorities, while I know everything about the Tome and your plans?” He chuckled, blood spewing from his mouth. “I always have one last card up my sleeve.”
Morak decided that he wouldn’t kill Shade – he asked Nathan to hold him magically in the Veiled Alliance HQ. They couldn’t risk him running off to Farun with that information. Before Shade was dragged off, he turned to Morak and said, “Well-played.”

Finally, Duran Shadowblade arrived at the scene, noting that a lot of magical activity was going on. Lyra, being the charismatic one, showed Duran their fake IDs and said that they were there to arrest these criminals. Duran was pleased, but he noted that Morak, Alex, and Laralan were in a suspicious situation. Lyra left with him and his Slayers, mentioning something about a “good night out.”

Morak then stole the druid’s helmet of detect magic and comprehend languages, in addition to the Tome of Understanding. He fled the village through the man-made passageway in Johnson’s tomb. Along the way, he encountered Reverend Andrew of the local Church, who instructed him to conceal a few holy scriptures in the tomb for “safe-keeping.” Morak obliged and hid them in Johnson’s tomb.

Morak emerged from the tunnel in a dormant spider’s nest in a cave. After exiting the cave, he found himself in a forest. After a few random encounters, he escaped to a forest clearing safely (thanks to dodging an owlbear due to a potion of invisibility).

Morak awoke and continued his journey, on foot, through the woods that linked Garilla and Khuldas.

Morak encountered a party of Satyrs in the forest. Due to the stolen helmet, he was able to communicate with them in “the language of the forest”, so they regarded him as an ally. Morak made a deal with them: the Satyrs would provide safe transportation through the woods and a +1 crossbow to Morak if he helped them ambush a party of Magrath’s men, who were disturbing the peace of the woods.

They set up an ambush, and were surprised to find that Lord Magrath himself accompanied his men, searching for “the book.” Eavesdropping revealed that he was looking for “the monk and the druid,” so he probably thought that Arden and Etch had the book and escaped. During the ambush, a Cleric of Boccob by the name of Alex and a Dwarven Wizard by the name of Kilim arrived to assist. Together, they killed Magrath and his men, but lost the life of one of the Satyrs. The wizard and the cleric revealed that they were from Garilla’s branch of the Veiled Alliance, and that they had recieved Shade’s message and arrived to ensure that Morak delivered the book safely. Using knowledge, the two new allies learned that the Tome of Understanding contained plans vital to the Veiled Alliance and that the Tome was sealed by the power of Boccob, who did not want the book to be misused. The Tome may only be opened by a Cleric of Boccob in an official temple of Boccob.

Morak then decided that he would side with the Veiled Alliance – after Kilim told him the wonders of Dwarven gold and how it funds the Alliance’s efforts via continuous compounding.

After the discovery of the Tome of Understanding, our heroes went to visit the late Johnson’s wife. She quickly pointed out to them that the book that they found was of no value to her, as she could never open it. After repeated attempts, it became clear to our adventurers that the tome was magically sealed by a force unknown to them. The party took residence at the village Inn for the night.

Morak decided that it was time to gather some intelligence on Lord Magrath. He snuck out at night, past curfew, to head to the local rogue’s den. There, he met a contact by the name of Shade, a fellow Rogue. Shade knew contacts in the northern small city of Garilla who could possibly discern the nature of the book – all Morak would have to do is deliver the book.

After learning this, Morak ambushed a guard in a back alley to gain his uniform. With the uniform, he impersonated a guard (disguise) and infiltrated Magrath’s Manor. By eavesdropping on a conversation between Magrath and one of his head guards, he learned that the head guard failed to retrieve the Tome of Understanding, which allegedly contained secret Veiled Alliance plans for the war. Magrath then killed the head guard. Morak looted his dead body and found a document with Magrath’s signature and royal seal.

Morak then performed some further snooping, only to run into Magrath himself upstairs. Not recognizing Morak’s face, Magrath forced him out of his manor, telling him to guard elsewhere.

The next morning, our heroes went to the town square to find out that Magrath would systematically search for every book in the village and burn them until the tome was found. He added that he would start with the local Church of Pelor. Until then, no one would be allowed to leave the village.

In the town of Khuldas, our three brave adventurers began their quest:Morak – a Human Rogue, age 25, whose parents have recently died. Morak’s sister has recently settled down with a farmer, leaving Morak to make a living however he wishes – be it by illegal or legal methods. Morak was hired by the Johnson family to provide security during the ex-mayor Johnson’s funeral.

Etchapikka-aa – a Gnome Druid of about age 42. Etch, as we call her, is a Druid of the Elder Leaves. Her views on the war are neutral, for the most part. She was called to this funeral to pay respects for Johnson, as he was a man worthy of even the druid’s respect.

Arden – a Human Monk of age 18. Only known to a few, Arden’s father was a member of the Veiled Alliance Resistance Forces, and he recently died during the Farun Civil War. Seeking justice, Arden learned the ways of the monk so that he could be prepared for a difficult journey into a world of war – both around him, and within himself as he deals with his inner motives of revenge.

The players met at Johnson’s funeral. As the local priest, Reverend Andrew, blessed the body of Johnson, some hired hands carried his body down to the graveyard in Khuldas. After a few minutes, screams of pain were heard from the bearers of Johnson’s body. Andrew gathered the family into the church while our heroes decided to investigate.

The party soon discovered that the tomb was infested with spiders and scorpions. They fought past groups of creatures as they tried to reach the location of the late Johnson’s tomb. On the way, the party acquired several potions (cure light wounds, invisibility) and a Helmet of Detect Magic and Comprehend Languages. Next to this tomb, they found the queen of these spiders and slew her, thus ending the temporary infestation of the Johnson family tomb. After searching the immediate area, they found a tunnel that lead to a nest (presumably where the vermin came from). Moreover, they discovered a shovel or two, signifying that this tunnel was man-made.

In the tomb of the late Mayor Johnson, the party discovered a Tome of Understanding, a legendary book that is said to make its readers more wise. For some unknown reason, this book was left unopened, and the magic of wisdom still appears to flow through its pages.

Sothe spent the rest of his evening in Camillo within the walls of the Assassin’s Guild, where he spoke with Vasil Rockarm, one of the Guild’s resident fighters, to upgrade his punching daggers (+1). After this, Savvy entered the room, telling Sothe to gather all of his possessions and be ready to leave as soon as possible. The two went to Antnar’s chambers in the Guild, where Antnar disclosed that he wanted Savvy and Sothe to relocate to Norbond, a Northern port city that is under the control of the Justice Blade, a group of Paladins that hails from Azure City to the East. This relocation was necessary because this would place Savvy out of the reach of the Farun Slayers and other necromancers and evil clerics that, according to Antnar, were recruited for the purpose of killing her.

Savvy teleported herself and Sothe to the Norbond branch of the Guild, which is located under a shop known as Marie’s Flowers. Sothe spent the night there, and Savvy assumed control of the branch as the highest-ranking member present. In the morning, Sothe and Savvy heard a mission request from Clint Norvald, a werebear from the village of Khalil in the Forsaken Woodlands. Clint informed the assassins of the tyranny of Orlando Chase, the strongest warrior and leader of the village of Serrem. Serrem is inhabited by werewolves and wererats, and their primary focus is the extermination of Khalil’s residents. Clint came to the assassins as a last resort – no other means of slaying Chase have worked. Chase has killed many of Khalil’s citizens – including near-defenseless children. His regime is truly worse than any other, and with him in power, Khalil stands no chance. Clint informed Sothe that Chase fights with a Spiked Chain, and that Chase is very intelligent and paranoid; his insight into combat, consequently, is unmatched within Serrem. Sothe accepted Clint’s mission, and Clint threatened to kill Sothe if Sothe ever disclosed their conversation, or if he failed and ran.

After Savvy briefed Sothe on the layout of Serrem, Sothe headed out to the Forsaken Woodlands on horseback at 8am. Four hours later, he arrived at noon. He guided his horse into the shade of the trees, where he was attacked by two undead, incorporeal Shadows. His horse ran off in fear, but Sothe was not intimidated. By channeling the power of his deity, Olidammara, into his sneak attacks, he crippled the shadows and moved on (after taking 2 STR damage). Using his ring of invisibility, he snuck into Serrem undetected. He disabled an Alarm-spell trap on the Stable gate to Chase’s manor, and after taking 1 CON damage from a poisoned dart, he bypassed the traps on the gate. He moved into the stable, unseen, but was instantly struck by an arrow that triggered upon opening the stable door. Sothe disabled this trap, and then proceeded to rig and sabotage the horses’ gates to fall apart when used. (He plans to cause a stampede when he escapes). Two guards heard Sothe’s tinkering and came on, only to be quietly slain by the invisible Sothe. Sothe proceeded to the manor’s kitchen, where he eavesdropped on a casual conversation between three off-duty guards. When one guard was called up to Chase’s office, Sothe followed them, learning that “Ashvale” was the code word which could disable most traps in the house.

When upstairs, Sothe saw that one guard went up another set of stairs to Chase’s office, while the other guard (equipped with a longsword) remained to guard the stairwell. In the same hallway, Sothe picked the lock to what appeared to be Chase’s master bedroom. Here, he found Chase’s mistress and used his invisibility to intimidate her. He promised to not kill her if she cooperated. She agreed, and she divulged the entire layout of Chase’s manor to him. She told him that Chase was in his upstairs office, but that stairwell had another password that she did not know. She said that “he couldn’t possibly love anything more than Ashvale, except for, well…maybe me.” When Sothe asked her name, she replied “Lidda.” Sothe then proceeded to tie her up by using strips of bed cloth that he cut, and he promised to release her after he was successful in killing Chase. He left off planning to kill the guard outside of the stairwell.

Sothe’s story begins in the city of Camillo, where he is a teenaged Human Rouge who works for the local Assassin’s Guild, led by Antnar Xunaste. The Guild is located underneath a trapsmith’s shop, which is owned and operated by Augustus Osgood, the local renowned trapsmith and inventor. He works with Sabnolu, a Drow Wizard who is second in command in the Guild. “Savvy,” as many call her for her brains, was almost a parent to young Sothe.

Sothe’s first mission was to venture into the Mardak Desert, discern the location of a local bandit camp, and slay the vicious leader of the bandits, Abarzim Ishet. After an encounter with two Janni, who were guarding a deposit of precious stones that Sothe looted. After this encounter, Sothe luckily stumbled upon a wayward shrine to Olidammara (his deity) and slept under the safe guard of a powerful Cleric (presumed to be a Contemplative) for the night.

In the morning, he headed to Ishet’s camp (a desert cave). Using his Ring of Invisibility, he easily dispatched the front guards, bypassed some traps, and made his way to fight Ishet. While he killed Ishet, Ishet’s guard, a vicious Orc Barbarian by the name of Vrurag Handscarer, escaped through a secret passageway into the desert. A sandstorm brewed, so Handscarer is presumed to be dead. Sothe looted Ishet’s base, kept Ishet’s head, and spent the night in the cave.

Upon his return to Camillo, Sothe was instructed by a local guard to empty his bag of all possessions. He displayed Ishet’s head to the guard, then turned invisible. Although initially taken aback, the guard rejoiced at the death of Ishet, who plagued the city for a while with his raids.

While taking the alleyway back to the Guild HQ, Sothe encountered two armored soldiers of Farun heading towards the same destination. He engaged them, and was immediately assisted by Savvy and Xunaste from the shadows. Savvy informed Sothe that these two men were Slayers of Farun, warriors trained by Farun’s military to specifically hunt down and kill illegal spellcasters. They were going after Savvy for “unlicensed practice of Arcane magic.” Only Farun’s agents or soldiers are allowed to use magic. “Oops,” Savvy remarked.

A blog for your campaign

While the wiki is great for organizing your campaign world, it’s not the best way to chronicle your adventures. For that purpose, you need a blog!

The Adventure Log will allow you to chronologically order the happenings of your campaign. It serves as the record of what has passed. After each gaming session, come to the Adventure Log and write up what happened. In time, it will grow into a great story!

Best of all, each Adventure Log post is also a wiki page! You can link back and forth with your wiki, characters, and so forth as you wish.

One final tip: Before you jump in and try to write up the entire history for your campaign, take a deep breath. Rather than spending days writing and getting exhausted, I would suggest writing a quick “Story So Far” with only a summary. Then, get back to gaming! Grow your Adventure Log over time, rather than all at once.